This invention relates to adjusting door hinges and particularly to a tool that slides onto an installed door hinge and straightens the door hinge.
The typical door hinge 11, shown in FIG. 1, includes two hinge plates 14, 18, and a hinge pin 20. Each hinge plate, 14, 18 has one or more knuckles 16 that are aligned with the one or more knuckles 16 of the other hinge plate. The hinge pin through the knuckles secures the hinge plates 11 together.
Most metal doors and door frames have hinges attached to a mounting plate which is secured to the door frame.
A cross-section of the assembled hinge 11 is shown in FIG. 2. A bend 21 in each hinge plate (called a xe2x80x9cswagexe2x80x9d) is formed in order that, when the door is closed, the door will close properly.
However, as the door ages, and even oftentimes with new doors, the door will not close properly
A number of devices have been disclosed related to the mounting of doors on door frames with hinges.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,535 to Cannoy discloses a hinge pin removal tool comprising an elongated handle with an extension having a wedge shaped tip and pin for loosening the pin and driving the loosened pin from the knuckles of the hinge,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,030 to Phillips discloses a tool for performing three functions. A punch mounted orthogonally near one handle is used initially to dislodge the pin from the knuckle. The other end of the handle has a wrench-like spanner configuration that is engaged with the hinge. Force is applied to the handle to straighten bends in the hinge. The magnitude of force applied by the carpenter directly against the tool to bend the hinge is a matter of the carpenter""s judgement so that the adjustment is not accurate.
Such misalignment generally originates in the xe2x80x9cswagexe2x80x9d in the door hinge. In the context of this specification, the term xe2x80x9cswagexe2x80x9d ( a common term in the art of door hinges) means the offset of the axis of the knuckles of each hingeplate from the plane of the respective hinge plate that enables the two hinge plates to rotate to flush against one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,132 to Henderson et al discloses a flat bar (strap) with a bent portion on each end of the bar. Each bent portion has a notch for engaging the top or bottom flange of a hinge permitting a carpenter to apply a bending force to straighten the hinge. None of these disclosures addresses the problem of misalignment of the door hinge that can occur after the door is hung.
It is an object of this invention to provide a tool that is applied to bending or changing the swage or mounting plate of a door hinge with the edges of the door and door frame.
The tool of this invention is directed toward a tube having a straight slot extending from one open end to the other open end of the rube. In applying the tube to adjusting the swage of the hinge or mounting plate, the tube is slid onto the knuckles of the hinge. A xe2x80x9cstopxe2x80x9d (screw in one end of the tube position the tube on the hinge. The door is then opened sufficiently (a few inches) to adjust (bend) the swage or mounting plate.